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Category Archives: Face
Urban Decay De-Slick in a Tube
Given the complete oil slick that my t-zone can be sometimes, I’m really surprised I’ve only just heard about this product, which, as the name suggests, is designed to de-slick that oil.
This is a lightweight gel formula which can be worn either on its on, under foundation, or over the top of your foundation, making it the perfect product to pop in your handbag, or in your desk drawer at work, for any oil-slick emergencies you may encounter throughout the day.
It’s £16, but Urban Decay claim it will keep your face shine-free even in hot, muggy weather, and under hot studio lights, so if it can do that, I’m pretty sure it can handle anything the Scottish climate has to throw at it. Click here to buy it and find out for yourself.
Clinique Strawberry Fudge Holiday Compact
(Disclosure: this was sent to me as a press sample)
I’m not much of a fan of Christmas, and all the hysteria that surrounds it, but I am a fan of all of the limited edition makeup palettes that start to come out around this time – especially the ones that come in pretty, shiny little packages. This is Clinique’s Strawberry Fudge Holiday Compact, and as you can see, it totally lives up to its name, containing a selection of cosmetics in chocolately, strawberry shades:
Three eye shadows along the top, plus a powder blush and two applicator brushes which, if you’re anything like me, you’ll completely ignore in favour of the brushes you already have. Here’s a close-up:
Dollface Reviews: Max Factor Xperience Weightless Foundation in Light Ivory
As I’ve mentioned more than a few times here, I have real problems finding foundation that’s a good match for my pale skin, so when Max Factor offered to send me a sample of their new Xperience Weightless Foundation last week, I didn’t hold out a whole lot of hope that it would be pale enough for me.
Well, I guess this is a good lesson for me that when it comes to foundation, it’s worth trying everything, because when it arrived, I was actually really impressed by how pale it was:
Dollface Reviews: GOSH Velvet Touch Foundation Primer
My beloved Smashbox Photo Finish Primer has got to that stage where there’s so little left that it only gets to come out on special occasions, and rather than pony up the cash for a new tube, I decided to try out the GOSH Velvet Touch Foundation Primer I wrote about a few weeks ago.
This cost me £12.99 compared to the £23.50, plus shipping, I’d have paid to replace the Smashbox product, so it was a reasonable saving. Was it a reasonable primer, though? Well, to be honest, I was in two minds about buying it: when I last mentioned it here, a few you of mentioned that you’d found it very greasy, and obviously that’s one of the last things I wanted from a primer! However, the tester in Superdrug reassured me a little: the product looked and felt very similar to the Smashbox primer, so I decided to take a chance on it, and so far I haven’t been disappointed.
While this definitely isn’t of the same kind of quality as Smashbox (it’s £10 cheaper for a reason), it does have similar qualities: the clear gel goes on smoothly, and has a lovely, silky feel to it, which transfers to my skin, leaving it smooth and soft, ready for foundation. So far I haven’t had any issues with greasiness – in fact, I actually find it makes my t-zone less shiny, which is a big point in its favour. I do think it’s one of those “little goes a long way” kind of products, though – I use just a very small dollop of it to cover my entire face, and I think if I used any more than that I may run unto problems, as it doesn’t absorb as well, or as quickly, as Photo Finish.
Overall, though, I’m pretty pleased with this, and although it isn’t going to take over from Smashbox on my Holy Grail list, it does make a good budget alternative for now.
Click here to buy it from Superdrug.
Fade Out brightening skincare relaunches
When I was a child, I had a face full of freckles. They’ve faded as I’ve gotten older, to the point where, even without makeup on, they’re no longer visible (unless, of course, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the sun, which makes them darker, or if I take a close-up photo with the flash on), but as a young teenager, those freckles were a source of constant angst to me. I absolutely hated them, to the point where I once tried to go to school with the contents of an entire tub of talcum powder on my face (this was in the days before I was allowed to wear makeup, obviously) in a bid to hide them, and they were one of the main causes of my subsequent obsession with cosmetics, because as soon as I soon as I was old enough to be allowed to spend my pocket money at the Cover Girl stand every week, I began a quest to hide the freckles at all costs.
Naturally, all of this is laughable to me now: not just because the freckles faded through time anyway, but because I actually think they can look very cute on some people. I obviously didn’t feel that way when I was younger, though, so I gradually worked my way through every product I could think of that was designed to hide or fade them, and one of those products was Fade Out.
For those who’ve never heard of it, Fade Out is a face cream which is designed, to “fade pigmentation marks, age spots and freckles” and to “help prevent the signs of ageing”. In other words, with regular use, it should help even out your complexion, getting rid of – or at least reducing – any areas of hyperpigmentation. The original version came in a heavy glass jar, smelt absolutely horrible (the scent always reminded me of Veet hair removal cream, actually), and came in a “one size fits all” formula, i.e. there was just one version of it, which you could use morning, noon and night, if you so desired. It’s a very long time since I’ve actually bought it, but I remember that while it didn’t get rid of my freckles completely, it did fade them, and it prevented them darkening up again when I spent time in the sun.
Of course, in those days it didn’t even occur to me to think about what was actually in the products I put on my skin. It subsequently turned out that the original version of Fade Out contained Hydroquinone, which was banned in the EU in 2001, amidst fears that it had carcinogenic properties. Fade Out stopped using it, and the new, re-launched version of the cream now uses Niacinamide (otherwise known as Vitamin B3) along with much more natural ingredients like mulberry and liquorice to even out skin tone by correcting areas of hyperpigmentation, and also to help nourish and hydrate the skin.
The new line also contains various different variations of the cream: as well as the re-vamped version of the original, there’s also a night cream, a day cream (containing SPF15), an anti-ageing version and an eye cream, which is of particular interest to me as it claims to bring it’s “fading” action to those dark circles I’m constantly waging war on.
Fade Out have been kind enough to send me some sample of the new line, which I’m going to be trying out over the next few weeks. For now, though, if you’d like to try them for yourself, the range is available at Boots, priced at £7.99 for the original cream, and £8.99 for the other products in the range.
Smashbox ‘Wish for a Flawless Complexion’ Set
You can always tell we’ve turned the corner of the year and are heading down the hill towards Christmas when all of the beauty gift sets start showing up in the stores. Not that I’m complaining, mind you: while these undoubtedly make great gifts in their own right, they’re also often a nice way to try out some of the products you’ve had your eye on but don’t want to risk paying full price for in case they don’t work out.
This little Smashbox set is a case in point. The Photo Finish Primer needs no introduction, and has well and truly earned its place on my Holy Grail list, but the other two products are ones I haven’t yet tried. Both come from the ‘Photo Finish’ family (which leads me to suspect there probably wouldn’t be too much of a risk involved in a full-price purchase): they’re the Targeted Pore and Line Primer and Line Primer, and the three of these together will set you back $39.99, which doesn’t seem like too much to pay, if, indeed, they do give you the “flawless complexion” promised in the title?
Want to find out for yourself? Click here to order this from Nordstrom.
Product Comparison: GOSH Bronzing Shimmer Brush Vs Lancome Tropique Minerals All-Over Magic Bronzing Brush
GOSH’s Bronzing Shimmer Brush is another of the GOSH goodies I was sent this week, and as soon as I pulled it out of the bag, it reminded me of the Lancome Tropique Minerals All-Over Magic Bronzing Brush I’ve been using for the past couple of months, so, rather than do a straightforward review, I thought I’d compare the two products for you.
Both are bronzers (surprise, surprise) which promise to give a hint of iridescent shimmer as well as creating that sun-kissed glow beauty companies are always banging on about. As you can see from the photo above, these look very similar, but come from very different price ranges: the Lancome product is £33, whereas the GOSH one retails for £7.50. (Er, sorry about the state of the Lancome bronzer, by the way: it’s been rolling around inside my makeup case for the past few weeks and is looking the worse for wear. I’m always amazed when I see beauty bloggers’ photos of their immaculate beauty products: mine almost always look like this.)
They both come with brushes to distribute the powder:
Benefit ‘Girl Meets Pearl’ – liquid pearl for the face
Benefit have been busy creating new products this summer, and one of their latest offerings to arrive in the US (it won’t hit the UK until October, unfortunately) is ‘Girl Meets Pearl’, which they describe as “liquid pearl for face” and I describe as “highlighter”.
Packaged in the same kind of tube as Benefit’s ‘That Gal’ primer, this looks to me to be a more golden-toned version of their bestselling High Beam, or its sister product, Moon Beam. Now, I adore High Beam, and would be hard pressed to find a good reason to purchase this one instead of it, but if you’ve found that the High/Moon duo aren’t quite the right shade, then this could well be the answer. Wear alone or over makeup to add a “luminous” glow anywhere you need it, and layer it up for a more obvious glow.
This is $30 from the Benefit website – click here to buy it.
Dollface Reviews: Lancome Rénergie Lift Makeup in Lifting Porcelain
I’ve been promising a review of Lancome’s Rénergie Lift Makeup ever since I bought it, way back in June, so I figured it was time I actually got around to it.
This foundation was a bit of an impulse buy. I spotted it in the duty free section of Sanford airport on my way back from Florida this summer, and was drawn in by two things:
1. The colour. I got the lightest shade available, which is number 10, ‘Lifting Porcelain’. I could tell right away that it would be a good match for my skin, and because it’s so unusual to find foundation pale enough for me, it was worth buying for that reason alone.
2. The ‘lifting’ bit. This claims to not only even out your skin and cover imperfections, just like every other foundation on the market, but to also “to visibly lift slackening skin and blur lines and wrinkles for 12 hours”.
Well, that was all I needed to convince me: I bought it with the last of my dollars, and for the past two months, I’ve been alternating it with my Revlon ColorStay, using Revlon on the days when only the thickest coverage will do, and this when I feel I can get away with something a little lighter.
Rénergie offers mid-level coverage, although it layers up quite nicely in areas where you feel you need a little extra. It’s a lightweight texture, which goes on smoothly and evenly, and is just really nice to apply. I posted a swatch on my post about foundation for pale skin, but just in case you missed it, here it is again:
Benefit The POREfessional minimizes the appearance of pores
I’ve been meaning to write about this product for ages now, but better late than never, I guess!
For most of my life, I’ve been plagued by open pores. As a teenager, I always assumed this was one of those temporary, teenage thing (like acne, say) that I’d one day grow out of, and be left with perfect, pore-free skin, but that day never came, and those pores are just as large and as open as they’ve ever been. To be honest, I’ve not really tried to do much about this, as I’ve always had more pressing beauty concerns on my mind, like trying to work out which mascara will make my eyelashes actually reach the ceiling, and that kind of thing.
The appearance of this product on the market did pique my interest, though. Its full title is “The POREfessional: pro balm to minimize the appearance of pores“, and that really tells you almost everything you need to know about this. The most important thing to note, however, is that it’s designed purely to disguise those open pores, not to treat them, so if you want rid of them forever (or to minimize them, rather: if you get rid of your pores altogether you won’t be able to sweat, and that won’t be pretty) this isn’t the product for you. If your content just to hide them a little better than foundation alone can generally manage, however, it’s a clear balm which can be applied over or under makeup, and which you can use throughout the day for top-ups as needed.
I’d be really interested to know how much of a difference this actually makes. Anyone tried it?
It costs $28, and you can click here to buy it from Benefit.
